


première rencontre

by 364_Unbirthdays



Series: Idea 9—Side Stories [1]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Gen, Idea 9, If you don't know what idea 9 is this won't make much sense, circus AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7646626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/364_Unbirthdays/pseuds/364_Unbirthdays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nanase Riku was an only child. But, on that day, he gained a brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	première rencontre

**Author's Note:**

> This is Idea 9- Circus AU. It won't make much sense if you don't really know much about it, though! 
> 
> Some information you should know beforehand— 
> 
> -This is Uno's Circus AU. If you're in the i7 discord chat, you should know how dangerous this AU is.  
> -In this AU, Tenn and Riku are half-sirens, and, due to some, er, unfavorable circumstances, Tenn was given to Kujou at an early age, which is why he was not brought up with Riku.  
> -This is pre-Idea 9.
> 
> WARNING: Unedited, and has the quality of a 14 year-old's writing.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Nanase Riku was an only child.

Born to a human man and a siren, he was one of the only hybrids ever born without body deformities. Hybrid relationships were very strongly looked down upon by the common folk, not just because they wanted humans to stick to their own species, but also because it poses a great risk for a child born between the two. It was not uncommon for the child to be born with very odd characteristics— completely black eyes, long curved fingernails, colored skin, fangs, etcetera.

However, Riku had none of these. He had been very lucky, actually, to be born almost completely human. The only siren characteristics he had was his unusually charming voice-not yet strong enough to put anyone into a trance-and slightly webbed fingers. It was hard to tell he was anything _but_ human from first glance.

There were two other hybrids in the circus Riku lived and worked in. One, Ryuunosuke, was rather lucky as well. Ryuunosuke was a dragon hybrid that was taken away from his family and auctioned off when he was very young. Riku knew this because his own father was the one who ‘bought’ Ryuu off the auction- not because he wanted to display Ryuu like some kind of trophy, but because he genuinely wanted to help Ryuu. As for body deformities— apart from Ryuu’s large body, which was a result of his dragon genes, he had slit yellow eyes and two large horns curling upwards from his head.

The other hybrid, Takanashi Tsumugi, wasn’t as fortunate. Though she was pretty, with fluttery, pale yellow hair, and soft, gentle features, it was easy to tell she wasn’t human. With scales stretching from her cheekbones and climbing down the back of her neck all the way to the underside of her arms and inner thigh, and brightly colored in red, yellow and black, she stood out from a mile away. Her eyes were blood red and with slit pupils, and when she opened her mouth, fangs could be seen protruding from the front of her mouth.

She was pretty, but when Riku had first met her, he was been terrified of the possibility that she might poison him.

It could be worse. Though Riku was still young, his father had told him about what terrible things that could have happened to them. He didn’t truly understand everything, but he got the idea it was truly terrible.

“Riku,” his father had started the conversation in a serious tone, just one, maybe two years ago, “Do you know what the worst case scenario of being a hybrid is?”

Riku, age 8 at the time, had shaken his head rapidly, clutching his book in his small hands. “What is it, Papa?” he had asked in a pure, curious voice.

“Sometimes, the hybrid gets all the bad stuff from the non-human parent, without anything to protect them. Like scales. Growing scales hurt a lot. If you don’t have the thick skin or padding that, let's say, a mermaid or a snake-woman, it will hurt a lot. That’s the worst thing that could happen.”

“There are people like that?” Riku had asked in turn, eyes big and scared. “Won’t it hurt a lot?”

“It does,” Riku’s father had replied grimly. “That’s why you need to be happy you weren’t born like that.”

“I don’t wanna be born like that!” Riku had cried, bottom lip trembling, book entirely abandoned. “I don’t wanna see anyone be born like that! That’s so bad!”

Riku’s father had just nodded and patted Riku’s head.

Sometimes, in secret, Riku wondered how it would have been like to be born like that. Was it truly terrible? How would he have felt? That said, he wished that it would never happen to anyone he knew.

Everything seemed to be safe so far. The circus that Riku’s father had started was growing nicely, every performer a “odd child” that Nanase Ayame had brought in by himself. There were the teenagers, Momo, Yuki and Yamato, who were all completely human but orphaned at a young age. Ryuunosuke, bought off an auction. Iori and Mitsuki, who were found in the forest, eyes wild and clinging to each other, having run away from their homes. Nagi, who came to them, begging for safety and shelter, his beautiful blue eyes red from crying. Tsumugi and her father, who were both lost and had nowhere to go.

None of them had those kind of ‘scale growing without protection’, like his father had told him.

(Riku was forever grateful that Tsumugi was born with thick skin, courtesy of her mother.)

_I wonder,_ Riku thought to himself, one day, _whether I’ll meet someone like that?_

_If I do._

_I’ll promise to take care of them._

_So they’ll be happy._

The mere idea of someone suffering from great pain because of that— it made Riku feel like crying.

He hoped it would never happen.

“Riku-kun,” Ryuu asked him randomly one day, “Do you have any siblings?”

“No,” Riku replied, confused to why this question had been asked in the first place. “Why do you want to know?”

Ryuunosuke smiled. He looked very kind when he smiled, despite his fierce features and large frame. “I just remembered about my own siblings. I can’t remember much about them, but I’m sure there were at least three of them. I wonder how they’re doing, now.”

So Ryuunosuke had siblings!

“I’m sure they miss their brother a lot!” Riku said, smiling. “I think they’re wondering about how you’re doing as well, Ryuunosuke-san!”

“I hope so,” Ryuunosuke replied, still smiling. “I’m very fortunate to be picked up by your papa, Riku. I wouldn’t have liked to gone to some scary person.”

He reached over and patted Riku’s head. Ryuunosuke gave very good pats.

“Ryuunosuke-san, you’re almost like my big brother!” Riku said happily, rubbing his head into Ryuunosuke’s palm.

“Am I?” Ryuunosuke asked, laughing at the younger boy’s doglike behavior.

“I wouldn’t know how a big brother should be like, but I think that you are a good big brother! Oh, but Mitsuki-san is a good big brother, too!” Riku added after a moment of thought. Mitsuki was good at cooking. Even at the age of 14, Mitsuki could cook a lot better than Riku’s own father could. Riku loved going to Mitsuki for snacks.

Ryuunosuke patted Riku’s fluffy hair once more, and said, “Then I’m the big brother of this family. Mitsuki can be the second big brother. Iori-kun and you, Riku-kun can be the younger brothers! Tsumugi can be the little sister and Nagi will be the dog.”

“Dog?” Riku asked, eyes wide. “Why a dog?”

The older boy just took one look at Riku, and went, “I’ve changed my mind. Nagi can be the younger brother. Riku-kun, you’re our cute puppy.”

“Why a pet? Why can’t I be a younger brother too?” Riku pouted, crossing his arms.

“Because you’re our pet. Everyone loves you!” Ryuunosuke replied, laughing.

Still pouting, Riku climbed onto Ryuunosuke’s lap, straddled it, and gently pulled Ryuunosuke’s horns down. “I wanna be a younger brother—”

“Eh, but isn’t being the pet a good thing? Ow, ow! Riku-kun, don’t poke me!”

“Oi— What are you guys doing there? There’s new people here, you know? At Yuki-san’s caravan?” Mitsuki’s voice cut through the playful conversation. “Come on out to meet them!”

“Eh? New people?” Riku stopped prodding Ryuu’s cheeks, excitement bubbling in his chest. New people?!

“Yeah! They look really cool, too! Though one’s been glaring at us a little.”

Riku had always loved meeting new people, and these people were no exception. He climbed off Ryuunosuke and rushed to Yuki’s caravan (which he shared with Momo. “To save space,” Momo had said).

There were indeed new people— four, in fact. An stern-faced man with grey hair, a younger and pretty boy with grey hair, a man(?) with pink hair and what looked like a lot of make-up, and lastly, a small boy who seemed so fragile next to the other three’s intimidating figures.

Riku felt something stir in the depths of his chest.

The small boy turned to look at Riku, who had just arrived, panting lightly. Riku was not allowed to exercise vigorously at all, since he was born with a weak pair of lungs, but he was allowed to walk fast— and walk fast he did.

When the boy met eyes with Riku, something small in his chest clicked.

— _he recognized this boy._

Barely, but there was some sort of resemblance to someone he knew hidden in the boy.

The strange thing was that, Riku couldn’t exactly place it. Everything about him was familiar. But—

Gentle, fluffy, light pink hair.

Brilliant, clear pale pink eyes.

Light, smooth, clear less skin.

A slight frame.

But most importantly–

_He looks like someone I know. He looks a lot like someone I know._

“Where’s Nanase-san?” Ryuunosuke had just arrived, out of breath, looking around for Riku’s father, who was indeed nowhere to be seen.

“Here,” Nanase Ayame’s voice was heard from the back of the caravan, and soon enough, the man himself came walking out from behind the vehicle. “I had to go and fix a broken pillar, please excuse me. You are…?”

The older man-he was definitely old enough to be a father-replied in a deep voice, “My name is Yaotome Sousuke, and we come from another circus. Our circus crumbled and we are now the only ones left. When we heard of this circus, my son requested for us to join you.” At this, he gestured to the young boy with silver hair, who stood next to him. Sousuke spoke stiffly and maintained a controlled expression, as if the idea of joining them greatly displeased him.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Nanase Ayame,” Riku’s father said in return.

Riku could see the boy stiffen up, eyes widening in shock. The boy slowly turned his head to face Riku’s father, his features stiff and composed.

“I’m Yaotome Gaku,” the silver-haired boy replied, apparently not noticing the other boy’s shock. “This is Anesagi Kaoru, and that is—”

Gaku stopped midway into his sentence, noticing the change in Nanase Ayame’s behaviour. Indeed, Riku’s father’s expression now mirrored the small boy’s— one of utter shock and disbelief.

A moment of silence, then—

“ _Tenn?_ Is that— is that you…?”

The other boy managed a jerk of the head, jaw hanging slightly open, lips curved into a sweet ‘o’.

Then it all clicked together.

_This boy looks like me._

**It’s nice to meet you for the first time, Father.** The boy did not speak, but instead held up a large sheet of paper with big black words printed onto it. **I hope you haven’t forgotten about me for the past nine years.**

Nanase Riku was an only child.

But, on that day, he gained a brother.

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this very short story based off my Circus AU! I hope my writing wasn't too bad (though if you made it this far, it probably wasn't terrible enough that you would drop it.)
> 
> To anyone from the i7 chat who is reading this: I am not sorry.
> 
> Thanks to Kuri (divergent-vanguard on tumblr!) for the title!


End file.
